• Really glad they showed us how Ben came to have Alex — I always knew that he rescued the child, as opposed to just taking her. The additional reveal that it was Widmore’s personal order to kill Danielle (and Alex) gave further credence to the idea that Ben is one of the shows heroes. I enjoyed seeing younger Ben stand up to Widmore’s demand to kill Alex. I am intrigued by Widmore’s later claim that the island did want Alex dead. If that’s the case then this further muddies the Island’s character — although there are perhaps many things we still do not know about life and death in relation to the ‘bigger picture’. Still, this was some nice vindication for Ben fans!

• I’m really not sure about the casting for young Ethan and Charles Widmore! Ethan is a brunette and that guy looked nothing like how I’d imagine a 40-something year old Charles Widmore would look. That said, it was rather funny to see young Ethan volunteer to infiltrate Danielle (considering he later kidnapped Claire) — I wonder what he would have done in Ben’s position?
• Danielle didn’t put up much fight to hold on to Alex did she? I’m not sure that a mother would be perturbed from looking for her child for 17 years just because of whispers — it’s not as if Ben was even that scary. I guess Danielle was all about the self-preservation.
• So Caesar’s dead and he wasn’t a Widmore spy after all? Wow, cheeky diversion, writers! (unless he was, and Ilana is one of Ben’s peeps)
• Why was Lapidus in so much of a hurry to get back to the Hydra island? Having previously left, there was very little for him back for, especially given the nature of the folks on that island.
• “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Clearly Ilana and friends know more about the island than I thought. Nice reveal!
• Even I have to admit that Ben told a few lies in this episode! Although he probably told just as many truths.
• I’m SO relieved that Ben didn’t murder Penny! (or Desmond for that matter). When he saw Charlie it was clear that he didn’t have the heart to do it, and I was mighty pleased that he didn’t. Too many people were far too quick to write Ben off as the murderer of Penny. I was also glad that he asked Sun to tell Desmond sorry (for shooting him). Forgiveness is a big aspect of the afterlife, it would seem.
• Ben summoning Smokey — “I’ll be outside” — now that was weird. For a moment I couldn’t tell whether he was prepping a mud bath or calling the island’s security system!
• This episode gave us further insight into the relationship between the Island and Smokey — they do appear to be one in the same thing. Smokey is at the very least an extension of the Island, and not a separate entity living on it.
• It was interesting to see how Charles left the island — in handcuffs! Last season I theorised that Ben tricked Charles out of his leadership position — I was almost right, but ultimately the suggestion is that Charles broke the rules (he had an off-island baby — Penny isn’t Island born), and seeming;y wasn’t committed to the island. It was clearly a difficult decision for Ben.
• Locke suggests that Ben is more “corporate” than he likes to think he is. He has a point, Ben did develop the ‘brand’ of the “hostiles” somewhat — he moved them out of the jungle and into the barracks, he gave them a logo (seen on the backs of the guards who marshaled Charles to the submarine), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the Mittelos Bio Science cover was his brainchild. That said, I don’t see much wrong with that — unless the island was opposed to it.
• The temple scenes were great, although perhaps the execution of Smokey engulfing Ben wasn’t as good as it could have been? I spent most of those scenes worrying whether or not this was the end of the road for Ben. It didn’t ‘feel’ like a ‘death’ episode, but the title posed a lingering threat.
• Good to see Ben being spared by the island — anyone who doubts that Ben is one of the good guys, with the Islands best interests at heart, only has to watch this episode.

Good episode overall, but a bit loose in places. Not the best Ben centric.

Overall rating: 7.5/10